Data protection & privacy laws in Namibia (2026)

Article 13(1) of the Namibian Constitution guarantees the right to privacy of home, correspondence, and communications, providing the only general privacy protection currently in force nationwide.

A Draft Data Protection Bill (originating 2021, revised through 2025) was tabled in the National Assembly in September/October 2025 per the Ministry of ICT; as of May 2026 no official confirmation of enactment has been found.

The Bill proposes an independent Data Protection Supervisory Authority with powers to oversee compliance, issue guidance, investigate complaints, and impose administrative penalties. No such authority currently exists.

Existing protections include the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 (financial-sector data obligations) and the Communications Act (telecoms providers must collect and retain customer data for at least five years; law enforcement access requires judicial authorisation).

The Bill would introduce lawful-basis requirements, data subject rights (access, rectification, erasure), cross-border transfer controls requiring adequacy or contractual safeguards, and a data breach notification obligation — though the draft omits a mandatory notification timeframe.

The Association for Progressive Communications and local civil society flagged that the 2025 revised draft weakens data-subject rights compared to earlier versions, including surveillance-friendly provisions and the absence of breach-notification deadlines.